Annual Tamalada Brings Together Travis Students, Staff, Families

In a chilly kitchen at Travis Early College High School this week, students from the school's Institute of Hospitality and Culinary Arts welcomed parents, teachers and staff for the annual tamalada.

Chef and teacher Adam Phillips joined the Travis family this fall and was taking part in his first tamalada, or tamal-making party.

Phillips, who worked in restaurants for 15 years before becoming a teacher four years ago, said he had made tamales before, though not on this scale and not to the exacting standards of his students and their mothers.

“The kids are very particular about the salsa,” he said, laughing. “And you don’t use store-bought masa.”

Travis students, staff and family members spent three days cooking pork and green chile chicken, chopping vegetables and slicing cheese, and mixing seemingly endless bowls of masa to make their tamales—1,300 in total.

“They really know about the time it takes, too,” Phillips said.

Student Franchesca Jaimes said she developed her love of cooking at an early age.

“I remember it as one of the happiest times,” she said. “I just developed a huge passion for cooking.”

Franchesca shows her dedication to that passion every day, when her mother drives her to campus from Bastrop. Before moving to Bastrop, Franchesca had been slated to attend McCallum High School but transferred to Travis to be part of the culinary arts program.

“Deciding a career was always hard for me,” said the junior. “I’m still deciding on opening a bakery or a restaurant.”

Institute Director Jayma Vaughan said students learn about customer service and the basics of running a small business as they prepare and sell the tamales.

“But the students and the parents definitely teach us every year, too,” Vaughan said.

The dedication of those parents is one of the event’s strongest aspects, she said.

“We have a lot of parents whose kids have already graduated, and they come back every year,” she said.

This year, the parents who took part also added a treat for their students, cooking a hot breakfast for the children all three days.

Phillips said the family support is one of the highlights of the tamalada for him.

“A lot of mothers have taken off work to be here and to support their kids,” he said.

That sense of community and family are part of what he said makes him love his work.

“It’s the best job in the world,” he said. “I’ve never had a job before that I felt compelled to go to the way I do this one.”

For Franchesca, who remembered and looks forward to making tamales with her grandmother, “The best part is seeing all these people bond with all the students, and sharing this tradition.”

This year’s tamales were sold to district staff, and to students and families at Travis. All proceeds are used to pay for this year’s supplies, and any extra is considered a donation to the culinary arts program.